Ex-China cold rolled coil (CRC) prices have edged down over the past week mainly because of lower offers from some mills and bearish sentiments locally.
More specifically, ex-China CRC offer prices from mills are at $545-550/mt FOB this week, down $5-10/mt on average week on week, while the tradable levels for ex-China CRC have been heard at $535-540/mt FOB, stable over the past week.
During the given week, CRC prices in the Chinese domestic market have edged down slightly amid declining HRC futures prices. Downstream buyers have been unwilling to buy high-priced CRC supplies. Manufacturing industries are in the traditional off-season, which has exerted a negative impact on the demand for CRC. Some downstream plants have suspended operations amid the high temperatures recently, negatively affecting the demand for CRC. Most market participants have been seeking to raise their CRC prices, while slackening demand has weakened the support for market sentiments. It is expected that CRC prices in the Chinese domestic market will fluctuate within a limited range with a negative bias in the coming week.
Average domestic 1.0 mm cold rolled coil spot prices in China are at RMB 3,647/mt ($537/mt) ex-warehouse, decreasing by RMB 13/mt ($2/mt) week on week, according to SteelOrbis' information.
As of July 22, HRC futures at Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 3,282/mt ($483/mt), decreasing by RMB 45/mt ($6.6/mt) or 1.4 percent since July 15, while down 0.06 percent compared to the previous trading day, July 21.
$1 = RMB 6.7933
